Jimmie Rivera said he’s the obvious next candidate to challenge UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw. There’s a roadblock in his way, however, and his name is UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson.

The way I see it is Rivera lucked out, I could see Cruz beating him if he was healthy. He should fight Lineker imo but it seems like he'll be going for the long layoff.

JLS

11/13/17 1:14:39AM

Not sure how Cruz getting injured is a sign of Rivera getting lucky. That was a winnable fight for either man.

Rivera is unlucky imo. 2 of his last 3 fights his opponent has pulled out due to injury. Meanwhile he's beaten every fighter the UFC has put in front of him looking better and better each time and is on a 20-Fight win streak.

I hear Lineker getting tossed around in conversations too. Hes got a nice 7 out of 8 going for himself. Just lost decisively to Dillashaw just 2 fights ago.

What about Assuncao. He's win 10 out of 11. His only loss in that run is to Dillashaw too, 4 fights ago for him.

Im not sure what the UFC's plans are but if Cruz is injured and Mighty Mouse vs Dillashaw does happen, Rivera vs Garbrandt would make sense, and since Assuncao and Lineker both have nice steaks with a common opponent loss it makes sense and its a matchup i haven't heard any noise about.

Further down, but not much further, there's a bunch more guys that are on the rise; Moraes, Munhoz and Sterling are head of the bottom pack.

Moraes vs Munhoz and Sterling vs Dodson

xdanish020

11/13/17 2:24:28AM

I think Jimmie is posturing a little bit......not that I blame him but I wouldn't want to take a fight that's a step down from Cruz like Aljamain Sterling or Marlon Moraes who are two guys who recently called him out. Rivera has 4 or 5 wins in the UFC IIRC, Moraes just got his first and Sterling lost his chance when he lost to Caraway imo, he also lost to Assuncao, although that was a very close fight.

IMO, they need to just move the fight back a few weeks, 2-4 and put Rivera in there against Assuncao with the winner getting a title shot. I don't like when guys try to skip the line so to speak and Moraes is definitely trying to do that, at least Aljamain is still a top 10 contender with multiple UFC wins. Still if I'm Rivera, Cruz is out, I'm either waiting for him, fighting Garbrandt, TJ for the belt or Assuncao for the next shot. No need to take a lower ranked opponent that is dangerous when you worked so hard to get to where you are.

I also would love to see Sterling vs. Lineker since both guys are around that middle pack and Sterling is one of the least hit fighters, while we know that Lineker brings a constant forward aggresssive style and pace. Would be interesting to see if Sterling could use his reach in that fight and it's one that if he were to win, brings him up a bit in the rankings.

Ninja_Nicoya

11/15/17 2:23:09AM

Posted by JLS

Not sure how Cruz getting injured is a sign of Rivera getting lucky. That was a winnable fight for either man.

Rivera is unlucky imo. 2 of his last 3 fights his opponent has pulled out due to injury. Meanwhile he's beaten every fighter the UFC has put in front of him looking better and better each time and is on a 20-Fight win streak.

I hear Lineker getting tossed around in conversations too. Hes got a nice 7 out of 8 going for himself. Just lost decisively to Dillashaw just 2 fights ago.

What about Assuncao. He's win 10 out of 11. His only loss in that run is to Dillashaw too, 4 fights ago for him.

Im not sure what the UFC's plans are but if Cruz is injured and Mighty Mouse vs Dillashaw does happen, Rivera vs Garbrandt would make sense, and since Assuncao and Lineker both have nice steaks with a common opponent loss it makes sense and its a matchup i haven't heard any noise about.

Further down, but not much further, there's a bunch more guys that are on the rise; Moraes, Munhoz and Sterling are head of the bottom pack.

Moraes vs Munhoz and Sterling vs Dodson

I just call him fortunate because I assumed Cruz would've won because after getting embarrassed by Cody I'd expect him to come in hungry but I understand he could've lost he is frail. Rivera vs Cody sounds like the best match up in the bantamweight division. I'd really like to see that.

JLS

11/15/17 5:30:57PM

Everybody wants that TJ vs MM Superfight which I'm not opposed to.

But on the other hand this is the best the BW division has been in a while. The belt has changed hands 3 times in 3 fights and there's so many worthy next to get the shot; Rivera, Cruz or Garbrandt with a win, Assuncao dudes 10 out of 11 wins. Sterling, Lineker, Moraes and Munhoz are all not too distant either. BW division is so strong right now.

Ninja_Nicoya

11/16/17 2:54:49AM

I'm definitely not opposed to MM vs Dillashaw I hope they make it happen. I feel like Dillashaw won't be champion for long considering how stacked up the division is.